Your End-of-the-World App Checklist

By Alison Caporimo

Image Credit: Mr. Matté

Last week, the unthinkable happened: I found myself waiting in line to use a payphone. In my confusion, I lost a few coins, ran out of money and, ultimately, had the whole thing documented by The Wall Street Journal. The article points to my payphone befuddlement, stating: “The magazine editor had never really trained her Warby Parker eyeglasses on the contraptions.” To start, I must set the record straight: They’re Jean LaFont, not Warby Parker.

But seriously: I had never used a payphone before last week because I was never in need of one. After Hurricane Sandy, residents of downtown New York City learned the importance of the corded classic.

That said, if you’ve got cell service in the middle of a disaster, the payphone’s hot great-grandchild, the iPhone, is much, much more useful. Here, some apps that could save your life: